A counter-intuitive list of opportunities for newspapers

Decentralized processes are counter-intuitive. Having a single institution promise to cover "all the news that's fit to print" seems more reliable than having a bunch of random bloggers cover the news in an uncoordinated fashion. The problem is that, in reality, newspapers are neither as comprehensive nor as reliable as they like to pretend. Just as a few dozen professionals at Britannica couldn't produce an encyclopedia that was anywhere near as comprehensive as the amateur-driven Wikipedia, so a few thousand newspaper reporters can't possibly to cover the news as thoroughly as millions of Internet-empowered individuals can. This isn't to disparage the reporters and editors, who tend to be smart and dedicated. It's just that they're vastly outnumbered.

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Image by jdlasica via FlickrPay attention to what Morgan Stanley's Mary Meeker says.That was a bit of advice that Bill Tallent, CEO of Mercury Intermedia, told the audience last Friday at "Smart Phones for Smart Journalists" at the John Seigenthaler...